I still don't get why you discarded Brandon's safehouse. It was made to shelter the royal family in times of need. Nobody but Brandon alone new about it until recently and he deemed it to be perfectly safe. That the prisoner was able to roughly guess its location was because he recognised one of the tunnels three blocks away. He would never have found the entrance on his own, but that wouldn't stop him from bragging.

"Kurgen, do you think it would be smarter to locate the rest of the loyal lions before we find a good place to hide? If you could provide an... unofficial asylum for our group within your embassy, we will be able to stay out of the sight of most of the guards. However, I am aware of the ramifications if we are caught, and do not want to spark a war between dwarves and men. If you knew of somewhere safer to move Brandon, I could study the curse laid upon him, and perhaps even get advice from the other side of death."

"I fear we may need to part ways again. It will be safer for you to find us a hideout, since there is no price on your head. See what the other dwarves think of providing us a place to stay while we think of the best way to solve this issue, and failing that, perhaps you can secure us a better location elsewhere."

"Yes, perhaps you should keep an eye out for the others while I return to the embassy and see if I can find a place to put you all. I'll keep an eye out for them as well on my way back. I'll also have to find a way in past those guards. Can't very well march you all through the front gates. Let us move quickly but with extreme caution. Good luck and good hunting. I will find you shortly."

I will head back to the embassy and look for a secret way in. I will also talk to the others about the situation, especially the bit about the King being a possible thrall and all the possible implications therein.

"Perhaps this 'plague' can make us another meaningful distraction. If we can convince the guards that the plague could spread to humans, you could offer the Embassy's services as a quarantine zone. That way, the guards will leave for fear of catching ill, allowing us to sneak in. If you could find a willing subject, I could imbue a fake illness onto them - one that would only last for an hour or so while we worked. I wish you luck, friend."

Kurgen: You part ways and return to the embassy. The watchmen are still there and continue questioning everyone who wants to enter or leave the building. Quanire is talking to two of them. When he notices you he gives you a respectful nod. He seems much happier now. He has a hard time hiding a wide grin.Inside you search for search for the senior dwarves and soon there is a emergency meeting of the council of elders at the hall. Only the higher-ups are present. There is a long moment of silence. Eventually Urgrim, master craftsman and oldest dwarf present, asks: "Well, someone has to say it: Do we dare to bother Baldir?"

Nebul: You are alone with Brandon again. There is not much you can do but stay hidden and wait for your newest ally to return. You analyze the curse the best you can, but now that there is no healing spell to cancel, it has gone back into hiding, so to say. Only because you know where to search and what to look for you find it again, but it is really hard to recognize much deatail now. The camouflage seems to be the result of something that was done to the spell, not an intrinsic property of the curse itself. You wonder when and how the curse was placed on the knight. Was it the moment the lost the hand or later, when you were facing the necromancer? You study the flow of mana that are the curse; At least the part you can make out. It is a complicated structure and you start with searching for familiar patterns. But while your spells consist of different parts that are connected to and interact with each other, you can not find any such connecting loops in this one. It seems to consist of one big structure without any seams or unnecessary dead weight.It takes a while but finally you recognize something that looks similar to a part of the matrix you use in your little Weaken cantrip. Only it is twisted and modified in a way to fit the other components better, compressed for maximum efficiency. That is why it took you so long to discover it.

[Seems I've been playing to much minecraft lately. Redstone circuits ftw!]

"Well, Master Urgrim, do we dare not? If any part of the tale I have heard is true, it may very well mean literal war between our countries. Baldir needs to take charge on this one. The bigger question is, who dares tell him?" I look around the table, at eyes turned to me. "No, nuh-uh, no way." I cross my arms stubbornly. "Not without a meat shield and an active regeneration spell cast upon my person," I say sarcastically.

This won't be easy. "Brandon, I'm going to attempt to pull this curse out of your arm. I've isolated the malice to the point where I can identify the black magic for what it is." He looks at me, worried and scared. I can tell what's racing through his mind. "I can't lie to you Brandon, this is going to hurt. I won't cause any damage to you - the curse has taken care of that. But for a while, it might feel like you're dying. You might even get a glimpse of the other side, but trust me this is normal. Master Laurence had me regularly practice dispelling curses, so this should not be too difficult of an extraction." Of course, this spell is more complicated than anything Laurence had me try, and Brandon is more complicated than a test rat, but I know the steps from here. Here goes nothing...

Nebul: Sorry to break it to you, but you overestimate your own talents here. That you can identify one single motiv in a much larger strukture does not mean that you understand it all. And even if you understood it all that does not grant you the ability to counter it immediately. What you learned in the past hour is that you need either a white mage or clerik of the rank of high priest or higher or a real expert in necromancy like Master Laurence to get rid of this curse for good. On the other hand you have a fine example of very advanced necromantic magic that allows you to study the finer principles and get a better understanding of the way magic works and how to achieve certain effects. The cloacing technique for example is something completely foreign to you and you think it is something that has been done to the spell rather than a property of the spell itself. Similar to a spell that targets other spells. Laurence called it meta magic.Sir Brandon finally regains his consciousness. And compared to earlier he is much more aware of his surroundings and able to concentrate on conversation. He is still weak like a child but at least he he can walk on his own now.